Plant-thinning machine



Patented .5am 13, i925.`

UNITE STAT i,52z,si4

ice.

PLANT-THINNING' MACHlNE.

Application ined starch 14, 1924. serial no. 699,250.

To u!! whom il* may concern:

Be it known that I, ENGELnER'r P. Gosoii, citizen of the United States, residing at Lafayette county of Boulder, and Stateof Colorado. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lilant-Thinning Machines; and l do declare the following to be' a full. clear, and exact description of the invention. such as will enable othersskilled in thc art to which it'appertains to make and use the' same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part .of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for thinning sugar beets and 'other vegetables. I

In the cultivation of sugar beets, and man v other root crops as Well. it is customary to sow the seeds in drills a 'few inches apart and to thin the beets some time after the seeds have'grown suiieiently to make the rows clearly' visible. The labor of thinning a large beet field is considerable.

It is the object of this invention to prou (luce a device that can be drawn by horses or by a tractor and which will automatically cut ont and thin the beets in the manner desired.

My machine, briely described, consists of a devicemounted on Wheels and provided with tivo rotatable members spaced apart a distance 'equal tofthe distance-between the rows. These rotatable members are provided with a pluralitv7 of hoes spaced apart along the sides thereof and are operatively connected to the drive Wheels of the mar-hineby means of gears that rotate the rollers at the speed required to produce the necessary thinnine. l v

ln order better and more 'clearly to describe my invention and4 the manner in which. it operates, 1 shall have reference to the accompanying drawing in which the present preferred embodiment oifmy invention is shown. and iii which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my machine; Fw. 2 1s a ton 'zA-lan view thereof I. i l. i

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line M,

which the wheels 6 and 7 are journaled. Secured to the transverse member 4 is a casting 8 which curves upwardly and has pi"- otally secured thereto a fork 9 to which the front or steering Wheel 10 is ,rotatably mounted. A tongue 11 is secured to the fork and carries the equalizer 12 to the ends of which the horses are connected. A second fra-mc oonsisting of end pieces 13 and 14 are securedfto the rear and Jfront ends respectively of the side members 15 and 16. At each corner of the second frame vertical members 17 are secured. The upper ends of these members have an angular piece 18 provided with a slot 19 for the reception of one of the crank pins 20 which are secured to the transf. Crank arms 22 have theirV verse rods 21s ends joined by means of a rod 23 so that the rods 21 will be forced to rota/te in unison. `A connecting rod 24 connects one of the crank arms 21 with the lever 5. moved about iispivot 26, the second trame will be raised and lowered. The vertical corner members 17 are connected by bars27. Rotatably mounted in bearings 28 are shafts 29 which carry7 rectangular rotating frame -members 30. A shaft 31 is mounted at right angles to shafts 29 and carries gears 32 that mesh with cooperating gears 33 on shaft 29. Secured toene end of the shaft 31 1s a gear 34 that isfslidable but not rotatable with re spect to the shaft. This gear is adapted to As the latter is' be moved into and out of cooperative engagement with thegear 35. Levers 36, and 37 or other equivale] t means are provided for the purpi-ise of moving the Wheel 34:. Hoes arer secured to .the sides of the revolving members 20 by means of clamping bolts 39 and a bar 40. As the/machine is moved in a forward direction, the frames 30 are rotated bv means of thc train of gears described above. '.lfhis cansesthe hoes to ciescribe *l ical paths through the air. The

speed of rotation is so adjusted that the hoes 58 cuts the row at equally spaced intervals so as to remove all but those plants that are props spaced. A cultivator, comprising` teeth 411, follows the machine and moves dirt toward the plants. The depth at which the cultivator lWorks may be regulated by means of the lever e2. end of the spring 44 serves to carry the operator. When the machine is to be transport ed, the gear 3e is moved out of mesh with gear 35 and the lower frame hoisted by means of me inver 25.

A seat 43 supported on the "From I heihnve it will he apparent'that being substantially rectangular in shape and I have Yproduced a machine that is well provided ywith vertical frame members al adapted to the thinning of b'eets, whih is of each coi-ner, the upper ends of said vertiral substantial yet simple constrnctimi, and members'havinga horizontal elongated slot. 5 whiehl can he cheaply nianufaetured and is two spaced rods pivotally attaehedtothe 20 l easily operated. rstdnentioned frameworkeavh rod havingr Haring now described my invention, two crank arms, each adapted to engage one lwhat I claim as new is: of said slots. a cont/rol lever, and means A machine for thinning sugar beets7 comoperatively related to the rods` and to the l0 prising, in combination', -a pair of drive control 1ever.-=.vl1eieb v when the lever is 25 wheels, a framework supported at one end by moved, therods are rotated and the relativ(` said wheels, a steering wheel secured to the yaeitions of theI two frameworks altered.

"\frgmework near the front end thereoL-a -In testimony whereofI attixmysignatnre. seond framework underneath,thefitien- 15 tioned frameworkhsaid-se framework ENGEBER'l l, HUSCII. 

